


By The Ticking Of The Clock

by calliopes_pen



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-15
Updated: 2010-02-15
Packaged: 2018-12-04 06:46:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11549709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calliopes_pen/pseuds/calliopes_pen
Summary: Donna actually realizes something is wrong with the metacrisis before she gets to the breaking point.  After asking for Jack and the Doctor’s help, the Doctor spots something in her mind that leads them to believe she might be a fob watched Time Lord.  The race is on to find it before her meltdown.





	By The Ticking Of The Clock

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Help Haiti Auction. The prompt was the following: “Donna is Gallifreyan and Ten helps her through rituals to become a Time Lady.”

It had been quite the adventure, and nearly everyone had returned to where they should be. The time seemed to be going by so quickly, with the company of so many friends in the TARDIS dwindling down to a scant few. It would have been so much more satisfying, the Doctor knew, if Donna hadn’t whispered in his ear as the others had been piloting.

Martha, Jack, and Mickey had finally left. Alone at last, he placed his hand against her face, mentally preparing himself for what needed to be done. She had already spotted something strange as she managed to block off certain bits of the metacrisis--but an expert was needed for any heavy lifting, as it were. And he was the closest they would get to one, at least in this galaxy. “Ready, Donna?” The Doctor calmed his breathing down, reaching for a more meditative state.

Donna, looking slightly disheveled, hesitated before agreeing. “Try not to knock anything over in there, would you?”

The Doctor hesitated to do anything drastic to the metacrisis wrought memories where there was that small, residual trace of _something_ \--which Donna was, he was impressed to see with someone that was still so new to the whole telepathy thing, using frantic mental gestures to point out.

Beginning to slide out of her mind, he accidentally spotted a memory of her drawing on his face during a rare occasion he slept, as well as her taking pictures for later blackmail. He huffed in amusement, vowing that--if she managed to survive this, without becoming amnesiac or a vegetable (and not the fun, decorative kind he adored in previous lives) or literally becoming a case of spontaneous human (well, human-Time Lord metacrisis) combustion —he would pull an equally odd prank on her.

And then in relief take her out for a bit of dining, dancing, and seeing if he could possibly max out his unlimited credit sticks with her shopping ventures.

He sensed more than heard a certain impossible man return to the TARDIS, having grown worried. Before Jack could open his mouth and interrupt the delicate proceedings, the Doctor carefully removed one hand from Donna’s face--just one hand wouldn’t ruin his progress, merely slow it down ever so slightly. He could do this tied up like _Houdini_ if he had no other choice or just wanted to show off--and put one finger to his lips.

The clock was ticking. He could feel the discomfort turning into something more urgent, peripherally aware that the TARDIS was offering a bit more mental energy if need be--he psychically stroked her, sensing her pleasure and worry. The random thought from Donna drifting through that there was to be no hanky panky in her head that she wasn’t involved in brought a small smile to his lips.

His brow creased in confusion--Donna was right when she thought something was odd in there, besides his own personality. It almost seemed as though there were one or two false memories mixed in at the start of her life. Just call him a puny prawn and be done with it.

_**Fine**. You’re a puny prawn, and a cute streak of nothing._

The Doctor smiled at that, knowing a front when he saw one. And with that, he removed himself from her mind, and turned to a patiently waiting Jack. He took a slow breath, sorting things in his own mind before anything else.

“The metacrisis is breaking down, Jack, and we don’t have much time.” He rubbed the back of his neck, before reaching back to grasp Donna’s wavering hand. Sending her quiet strength when she needed it the most. His mouth quirked in a rueful grin at the situation they were in. “If what I saw in there is even half right, Donna might be a Time Lord. We don’t know where her essence would be held, and time’s running out. I take it you’ll help us?” That salute from a loyal man was all he needed.

The Time Lord would only be leaving Donna’s side to set the coordinates for Chiswick. With time of the essence the Doctor was a better driver than usual. He managed to land the TARDIS with nary a bump, right in the middle of Donna’s old bedroom, next to her bed. Jack stroked a bit of the coral, silently sending his thanks. That done, he whirled to Donna.

The Doctor held Donna’s face gently, locking eyes with her. Those eyes that were bravely holding back most of the pain, sure to become a tidal wave of agony at some point in the next few hours. He had to make her focus before she hit the metacrisis meltdown stage. “Do you have a fob watch, Donna? Did it _look like_ one?!”

When she shook her head gently at the last, he frantically tugged at his hair in frustration. “Of course it didn’t. Because nothing is ever _that_ easy when it comes to the two of us. We’ll just have to open every underwear drawer, bauble, bangle, trinket, and jewelry box in your house. No matter how petty or trivial, it will be opened or looked in.”

“If this weren’t for a good cause... _oooh_!” She grabbed her own head in a blend of annoyance and pain.

He kissed her cheek as she sank to the bed for just a moment. “I know, we’ll hurry.” With an exquisitely gentle caress of Donna’s arm, he whispered in her ear, “Your mother and Wilfred won’t be happy what with the house being turned upside down and all...but after the mess caused by dragging the planets into and out of alignment, who’ll notice _one more_ shattered plate, hmm?” Things were looking slightly up, he mused. Sylvia wasn’t there to argue with him, as she and Wilfred had gone out to celebrate their survival.

The Time Lord gritted his teeth, and focused on finding just the right setting on the sonic screwdriver--something that would detect the item in question, but not blow it up. “If we’re very, _very_ lucky there’s still just a bit of that old residual energy left over for it to give off. Some of that _lovely_ background radiation.”

He took an extra sonic screwdriver that he had taken to carrying around in his pocket in case the other was lost or blown up, and tossed it to Jack with a wink. The responding salute was ignored just this once. There wasn’t time for him to be finicky about it, but he would make up for that later. “Let’s get to work, because I’m not about to lose you, Donna Noble. Not now. I’d say more, but now’s not the time for heroic speeches, is it?”

Jack tossed the screwdriver once, catching it easily. He started by scanning under the bed, and shot Donna a cheeky grin. Musingly, he commented, “If it were me, I’d hide myself somewhere kinky. Fuzzy handcuffs. Not gonna be _quite_ that easy for you, huh? Mind if I search your underwear drawer?”

He laughed at the dual shout of “Oi!” before he returned to work.  
\--

With superior Time Lord eyes, the Doctor surveyed the room. He glanced at a teddy bear that was leaning against the wall--the glance turned to horror as Jack ripped its head off, just to make sure there wasn’t a Time Lord consciousness trapped inside. Donna rolled her eyes, muttering something guaranteed to send terror straight into the hearts of a Time Lord. “That was Mum’s, actually.”

Donna patted his cheek, grabbed the pieces of the toy from his unresisting grasp, and shoved them under the bed. “We’ll get the TARDIS to heal him later. Mum will figure out a way to kill you permanently if you don’t. I figure it’ll start with the equivalent of a sonic scream of rage, and end in tears.”

The Doctor patted his shoulder, leaning down to whisper, “She’s scarier than Jackie ever was.” The moaned ‘Oh, _God_ ,’ from behind his hands as he sank onto the bed told it all. He had been witness to (or recipient of) the wrath of Jackie Tyler at some point in his life.

The Doctor grabbed Donna’s hand and grinned mischievously. “Back to work, Miss Noble.” After a pause as he scanned the room, he looked at Jack. “Ah, you were very, very close, Captain. It’s not the bear...it’s what’s _behind_ the bear. Of _course_! Oh, we’re good.”

Donna sent an incredulous look toward the Doctor. “Oh, that’s just an old music box...that I’ve had since I was a baby. But it’s broken. It won’t open.” The Doctor eyed her, and she laughed with good humor mixed with annoyance. She waved her hand to get him to take a step back.

“Yeah, I’m the thick one now--it must be contagious. How do I know it’s broken if I’ve never tried to open it, right? So...kind of obvious, huh? Hand it over, Time Boy. We’re opening this baby up.”

The Doctor handed it to her slowly with a reverence that prompted her to send him a look of disbelief. He shrugged. Jack just shook his head at them. “I tore the head off your mother’s bear for _nothing_? You owe me a drink.”

She nodded in determination, slowly turning the music box in her hands as she looked at it. “Will do, Captain. A drink and a dance for the three of us.” She kissed his cheek when he smiled. “For luck?” Turning back to the Time Lord, she yelped as she was almost crushed in a bear hug. “Don’t worry, I won’t turn out to be the Master stuffed into a human woman.” She laughed, obviously nervous about something like that causing everything to go very, very wrong.

His voice wobbled slightly as he grinned against her hair. “Don’t even _joke_ about that, Donna Noble.” He only let go of her long enough to wipe a tear from his eyes.

“I’m not going anywhere, Doctor.” She kissed his cheek, and gave him a gentle look as she pulled away. “You’re really not letting go until this is over, are you?”

“Nope.”

Gently, she added, “Didn’t think so.” Laughing as Jack Harkness offered her one last salute, she glanced at the box, cautiously stroking it. Smiling to cover her fear, (and since when had _that_ ever worked with the Doctor--he knew her too well) she gave him one last glance, and unlatched it.

“Well, here we go.”  
\--

There was a brilliant golden light that spilled out from the music box—the Doctor closed his eyes, momentarily dazzled, but never let go of Donna. He felt her briefly shivering, whether from fear or surprise or the sudden change to a different type of anatomy, he couldn’t tell. When it was over, the Doctor shifted his grasp so that he could peer into her eyes. She didn’t look at him like she wanted him dead, which was always a good sign in the Doctor’s book.

There was a long moment of suspense as she obviously adjusted, and the Doctor simply wondered just how drastically she would have changed. Was she an enemy? Still his best friend? A stranger now? If she was the Rani and wanted to dissect or experiment on people, he would just lose it.

“Donna?”

Donna gave him a long look before chuckling with something akin to relief mixed with frustration. “Well, isn’t _that_ wizard. Fob watched as a toddler? _Really_? I couldn’t have been a long lost friend of yours? All I’ve got are a couple fuzzy memories of playing with radioactive building blocks. I was nothing special, just some random kid that must’ve been lucky at that moment--saved before I could die with the rest.”

The Doctor didn’t say a word for a long moment—then he cried out in joy, lifted her up, and just began to squeeze her tightly in a hug tighter than earlier. Donna stroked his shoulder gently, whispering in a strained voice, “Respiratory bypass system is a blessing now, I’m thinking. I’ll need air later!”

He hurriedly released her, muttering, “Sorry, sorry.” His eyes were filled with relief, and he was giddy and bouncing on his feet. “Metacrisis all sorted, then? No pain?”

“All gone.” She searched that short memory from long ago, wistfully commenting, “I think I’ll keep my own human name. That one was a bit embarrassing. Do I have to come up with a title at some point? The Temp From Chiswick doesn’t work all that well.” And then, chin raised in defiance, “And I don’t care how I ended up human--Mum and Granddad are still my Mum and Granddad!”

The Doctor tipped his head back, and laughed, before he took her hand and wrinkled his nose. “Nah. Donna’s good. Donna’s lovely. Donna’s preferable to fancy, schmancy titles. And of course they’re your family--if you denied them, you wouldn’t be Donna Noble.” The words prompted another round of bouncing and laughing in relief that barely startled her. Donna could feel the waves of joy emanating from him through a now-established link.

“I'm not the only one-- _again_. This time, it's not a madman. You're _not_ mad, right? No impending implosions or explosions of the brain matter or urges towards destroying the universe while dancing? No mysterious noises? Ringing in the ears? Good, good.” Forcing himself to calm down, he walked back to her side. He stroked her cheek with a knuckle, whispering, “I missed you, Donna Noble."

“Didn’t go anywhere, Spaceman...but I missed you, too.”

“And what’s this about being nothing special, Donna Noble?” The Doctor put his hands on his hip as he turned to Jack. “She _still_ doesn’t believe her worth. Want to help me convince her?”

Jack took her hand. “You, Donna Noble--or whatever your long, likely tongue-twisting real name happens to be--you are amazing. You kept old Last of the Time Lords over there from snapping.” Jack ignored the plaintive ‘hey!’ and they grinned. With a sigh, he continued, “You helped stop the Daleks. You beat Davros. From what he told me between us steering the planet back into orbit, you managed to survive parallel worlds that would drive most people bonkers. You, Miss Noble, are a marvel.”

The Doctor put his arm around her again, adding, “The Ood sing songs of you, remember? You helped bring freedom to their race. The DoctorDonna.” She nodded, speechless for a moment. She gave him a peck on the cheek, and held Jack’s hand a bit closer to her chest.

And in that moment, the Doctor finally lost the last shred of his fabled self-control, grabbing Donna and planting a searching kiss right on her lips. For once, it wasn't a genetic transfer or a detox that left a funny taste afterwards. There was no questioning that, as Donna returned the kiss feverishly. She was only dimly aware Jack was still in the room, and knew that the Doctor had forgotten entirely when he backed her against the wardrobe. The vase on a nearby table tilted dangerously as they staggered beside it. Jack didn’t mind the fact that he had been mostly forgotten—he enjoyed the view.

An absolutely filthy chuckle from the aforementioned ex-Time Agent brought the Doctor back to himself, with flushed cheeks and hair messier than ever, which was a feat in and of itself. Panting, the Doctor beamed at both Jack and Donna, while trying to tame his hair. It had grown a bit, making him look not unlike a rooster.

“Room for one more? If the lady is willing, of course.”

The Doctor smiled ruefully as he leaned his forehead to hers. “We’ll get to finish that moment later. Alone, first, hmm?”

She tapped his nose with a wink, sighing, “Got it, Spaceman.” She couldn’t resist adding, “Oh, but you kiss so much better when you haven’t been eating walnuts and sardines, you know that?”

With one arm wrapped around Donna’s waist, and one around Jack’s shoulders, the Doctor looked at Donna with a hint of mischief, before kissing Jack’s cheek. Donna smirked at them, and reminded the Doctor of his promise with just a thought. She could get used to that, even if it was decidedly strange.

“Drinks first, Captain, and _then_ , we get down to business. Before all that, though, we’ll get you to the TARDIS infirmary, Donna—scanning you head to toe, to make sure there’s not even a trace of a problem in your head.”

He bent down, picking up the now definitely broken music box. He tossed it in one hand, looking decidedly cheery as he stuffed it in his left pocket. “What with all the hat boxes you brought on board the TARDIS, I’m surprised it wasn’t one of _them_. Planet of the Hats, remember? You made me go back for more boxes…all that luggage, like I was some sort of pack animal. All that luggage, all those clothes...and you _didn’t_ pack the music box. I know it was the perception filter, but we’re lucky your mother didn’t throw it away.”

Donna laughed, “I should have joined the Tin Foil Hat Brigade--have to be mad to agree to half your schemes.” Not surprisingly, the Doctor had something to say about those.

“Tin foil hats--they always start to bake my hair, and they never keep out all the mind control rays. The Archangel Network got through perfectly fine. Shower caps work much better. The Tin Foil Hat Brigade does exist, you know. They're a bit like LINDA now that I think of it--slight offshoot there. What was that other theory? _Right_ , that the government sends messages through price tags.” He paused a moment, letting that sink in, before he casually added, “They _don't_ do it. Just a few friends of mine saying hello across time and space.”

The Time Lord leaned back against the wall with a contented sigh and wrapped his arms around Jack and Donna again. They didn’t even react to his tangents anymore--just gave him a fond look. Well, _Donna_ succeeded in that regard--Jack just mimed the universal signal for ‘he’s nuts, you know,’ snickering when Donna poked him with her foot.

The Doctor hadn’t been this happy in years, and Jack grinned. Donna was good for him. For _them_.

Donna looked him in the eye, pleased to see that twinkle back. She had missed it when he was so frightened for her before she opened the box. “So...you started all those fruitcake theories? Just for kicks. I should have known.”  
\--

To Jack’s eternal relief, they _didn’t_ need to take Sylvia’s teddy bear back to the TARDIS for repairs after all. The Doctor always carried a sewing kit and bits of multi-colored felt and foam (along with oddly colored china patterns) in his pockets. He wouldn’t explain the exact reasons, other than a vague comment he’d been in been in a few scrapes in his sixth incarnation, and it had been with him ever since. Twenty minutes, several lewd comments, and a third eye glued to its forehead (the Doctor had an odd sense of humor; Donna wasn’t planning to be there when Sylvia discovered that little extra) and it was back in one piece.

The Doctor put his jacket around Donna’s shoulders as they opened the door to massive amounts of rain. All three knew it would be a while before it stopped, but neither Donna nor Jack happened to have an umbrella on hand.

Donna was, to put it rather mildly, miffed.

The Doctor for his part was looking decidedly unruffled before reaching into his right pocket, shoving his arm into it all the way up to his elbows. “ _Ah ha_! There we are, I _knew_ it had to be in there somewhere.” It was the umbrella his seventh incarnation insisted on taking everywhere, stored in his coat in case of emergencies. Even if he did love a good jog in the pouring rain, he knew his companions weren’t interested in gaining the appearance of nearly drowned Altarian rodents.

Donna gave him a playful nudge as he located a smaller, pink polka-dotted one, and tossed it to Jack with a smirk. Jack gave it a long stare as though he wasn’t quite sure whether to smack him with it, or actually use it. Finally, he just gave a long-suffering sigh and opened it. “ _Thanks_ , Doc.”

As they walked through the rain, Donna’s arm looped through the Doctor’s, Jack considered his next move carefully. The Doctor raised an eyebrow to him, as though he sensed his problem--and he probably did, Jack realized, what with being a Time Lord and slightly telepathic.

“I’ll just give you two a week to get to know every single inch of each other...and _then_ we’ll get our drink and dance. How’s that sound? You two need that break before I join in.” The Doctor nodded, understanding and very grateful.

“And then a trip with us? Pick a planet, pick a time, and I’m at your service.” He tugged one ear, adding, “Mind you, we’ll have to avoid you if you’ve been there before.”

Jack nodded, pleased they weren’t insulted...amazed he’d been able to suggest it without sounding like a jerk. “That sounds fantastic.” A quick kiss on their lips that promised more, and he vanished into the rain. It wouldn’t take nearly as long to get back to Cardiff now that his vortex manipulator was working again--for now, at least. Who knew if the Doctor would break it again the next time they met.

The Doctor looked down at Donna with a grin, and kissed her cheek, before opening the door of the TARDIS with a flourish.

“And as for _you_ , Miss Noble, since you were just a tiny thing when you were Chameleon arched--I’ll be teaching you whatever you need to know about history and culture, telepathy and timeline reading--and how to be a _proper_ Gallifreyan renegade, of course.”

“Oh, of _course._ ”

The Doctor paused in the middle of setting the coordinates for after they finished dematerialization--Donna was very deliberately and provocatively running her finger down the Doctor’s chest. “Just think. Once I’ve fully adjusted to being Gallifreyan, then we can get up to some very interesting things telepathically.”

The Doctor’s grin widened. He couldn’t wait.

_Finis_

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks go out to SeanDC and Persiflage_1 for beta reading.


End file.
